Minnesota Wild vs San Jose Sharks Prediction, 3/31/2021 NHL Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Minnesota Wild vs San Jose Sharks

Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Location: SAP Center in San Jose, CA

TV: NBCSCA

Odds/Point Spread: Wild (-150) Sharks (+130)

SAP Center is the site where Martin Jones and the San Jose Sharks (14-16-4) will take on the Minnesota Wild (21-10-2) on Wednesday. The Sharks open this contest at +130 while the Wild are coming in at -150. The over/under opens at 5.5.

The Wild will look to clean up some issues after taking a 4-3 defeat against the Sharks in their previous contest. The Corsi for the Wild came in at 60 and the Corsi against when the final whistle blew was 72 meaning they had a Corsi percentage of 45.5%. When starting in the offensive zone they were rated at 40.3% and their PDO rating was 103.9 for this matchup. Minnesota accumulated 5 penalty minutes for this contest. The Wild offense didn't overly impress in this defeat. Their Fenwick came in at 43 and the Fenwick Against sat at 56, meaning they had a Fenwick rate of 43.4%. They tallied 22 face-off wins at even strength and were beaten on 29 attempts to control the puck. Additionally, they had 1 power play try but weren't able to notch a goal. In the game, they earned a goal on 3 out of the 25 shots they put on goal.

Minnesota Wild opponents have recorded 106 power play tries (15th in the NHL) and have notched 15 goals in those attempts. The Wild have had 1,004 shots tried against them and have a save percentage of .919. Minnesota has taken 960 shots and has a shooting percentage of 10.1%. While playing at even strength, the Wild have conceded 66 goals while earning 87 of their own. Minnesota has accumulated 103 power play opportunities and they have notched 10 goals during those advantages, earning them a percentage of 9.71%. For the season, they sit with 44 points and their points percentage is sitting at .667. Concerning scoring goals, the Minnesota Wild have notched 97 goals (17th in the National Hockey League) on the campaign and have given up 81.

The player in the crease for this game is Kaapo Kahkonen. The opposition has been able to score 53 goals against Kahkonen in his pro career and his goals against average is 2.45. Kahkonen has taken the ice for 22 games over the course of his hockey career. His save percentage currently sits at .919 during his 1,300 minutes between the pipes. He has accumulated a record of 15-6-1 and he was named the starter in 21 games. From the beginning of his pro career to now, Kahkonen has tallied 12 quality starts and his quality starts rate is .571. Kahkonen has had 653 shot attempts taken against him and has garnered 600 total saves.

In their win over Minnesota, San Jose had a PDO at even strength of 96 and their percentage of oZS was 59.7%. They had 1 power play chance in this matchup but weren't able to put one in the back of the net. Their Fenwick percentage came in at 56.6% by way of having a Fenwick of 56 and the Wild having notched a 43 Fenwick at even strength. The Sharks recorded 4 goals of the 39 shots on goal they tried. San Jose went home with a 54.5% Corsi rate. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game San Jose had and they showed out in this one.

The Sharks have accumulated 73 goals at even strength and 17 goals (25th in the league) while having a power play advantage. San Jose has tried 1,014 shots (18th in professional hockey) and has a shot percentage of 8.88%, while allowing their opponents 1,094 shots. This season, the San Jose Sharks have earned a total of 90 goals, 32 points, and a points percentage of .471. They have earned 93 power play chances and they have earned a power play percentage of 18.28%. They have a penalty kill percentage of 79.49% on the other teams 117 power play tries, and their save percentage sits at 89.4%. They have allowed 116 goals to be scored by of a combination of 92 goals at even strength and 24 goals while they had less men on the ice.

Across the ice you are expected to see Martin Jones defending the net. His opposition is averaging 2.58 goals per game and he has allowed 860 goals in total. Jones' quality start rate is 52.8% and he has 180 quality starts in his professional career. He has started in 341 contests and has been on the ice for 19,995 minutes. Jones has amassed a career mark of 182-126-27 and has played in 348 contests. He has compiled 8,565 saves out of the 9,425 shots attempted, which gives him a rate of .909.

Who will win tonight's NHL game ATS?

Josh's Pick: Take San Jose (+130)

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